Kelaal: lol! Really? Yeah, that is ironic. J
Holly B: Umm…well…after this chapter, you'll probably want to kill me. *hides*
Fowlet: *grin* wait and see…
Kelsey: Thanks. J Umm…Blue green mice? Cool. J
Flamaria13: Well I wasn't at the time but it's here now! J
Kalariah: lol! No, you can't kill Lint! I need him for this chapter! You can have him afterwards though. *grin* I promise.
SilverButterfly: Really? *sigh* That's good. I know my writing style can be a bit obscure at times.
Hollyshort29406: Yeah, the Spirit Sabre's a sword. J Well done!
Fuzzbunni: Sorry I missed you in the last chapter. lol, Julius wasn't OOC?
~*~*: Phew, that's good to knowJ
Aks: Muhahaha! You can't send me to jail – I have diplomatic immunity. lol, well, I'm not sure exactly how long this is gonna be. There wont be a sequel, though. The ending I have planned is pretty final. (But I have this really weird idea for a companion that I might post up later). Oh yeah, I read 'A twist of Fate' too, that fic is AMAZING! It was actually daunting to read cuz this is my very first ficcy but… *shrugs*…I manage to get the next chapters outJ
StarChild22: Sorry, no Artemis POV in this chapter, there might not be one for a while but…Hmmm…Holly hitting Artemis? I think I can weave that in…..*grin*
Sheen Rox: *pant* I wrote as fast as I possibly could. You haven't imploded yet have you?
esBigHead: Nope, no fluff for a little while now. Sorry, I find it extremely hard to write J
spontaneousxhumanxcombustion: Well Holly decks someone in this chapter, so enjoy…
Librarynymph: Yeah, I know I have a real problem with making myself clear. It's something I'm working on. Some parts you aren't supposed to understand, but mostly it's just my tired brain making it difficult. Thanks for the constructive criticism! (I'm not being sarcastic, I mean it.)
Bmw: It does? Phew.:)
leonsalanna: I hope so…J
Captain Holly Fowl: This was as soon as I possibly could.
lutefa: Yikes! You're kidding. Lightning? Wow. How did that happen? Do you keep a metal conductor on your roof or something? J I would have completely freaked out and ended up in the attic or on the roof where the fire would have killed me. J You were on the news? Cool, you're famous! Can I have an autograph?
Disclaimer: I do not own Artemis Fowl. *sob* well thanks for opening old wounds! I own Gus Lint…but he really isn't worth owning. Anyone want him? I'll throw in a museum guard for free!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Great Russell street
London
The flight to England was uneventful. With the wind pushing against her, and whole communities below her, Holly felt her natural good humour return to her. At least for the short time that they were flying. It seemed that as soon as her feet touched the ground, all her troubles returned to her, and she presently felt an impetus to take off again. With an effort, she squashed the feeling, concentrating on the task at hand. There would be time to feel awful…later.
Commander Root touched down beside her. They were behind the British museum, cloaked by the shadow of the impressive building, and shielded. They would not have trouble with entering, it was not a private dwelling: there were plenty of 'Welcome' signs hanging around. At a stretch, that qualified as an invitation. Holly awaited her Commander's orders but he was preoccupied considering, she assumed, how the hell they were going to retrieve the seventh scroll from a museum crawling with Mud-Men.
Finally, he spoke. The customary ironclad authority strong in his voice. "We'll go in now. We can't risk waiting until later. Fowl or Lint or the German army could steal it from under our noses in this crowd. We'll have to risk using a Concusser. Barricade the doors as soon as I give you a go, understand?" Holly nodded. "With any luck we'll be out of there in thirty minutes."
Holly nodded again, thinking they'd need a lot more than 'luck' to pull this one off. Root began walking towards the front gate. "Sir?" She called.
"WHAT?" He yelled, acting as if she'd just distracted him in the middle of a military operation. It was lucky there was no one close by at the time. Though Holly had serious doubts as to whether the whole of the Museum hadn't heard him.
"Umm, you're still shielded. Don't you think we should use our Holo-Imagers?"
Root struggled with himself for a moment. "I know that, Short. I was just going to suggest - well don't stand there looking at me!"
Holly had to hide a grin. She slipped her Holo-Imager onto her ankle, remembering that it had worked that way for Root. Instantly, he features transformed and she became a pretty young Mud-Woman and Root became Gus Lint's henchman.
They went inside slowly, attempting to blend into the crowd but feeling nonetheless singled-out. It was a matter of minutes for them to find the Egyptian exhibit.
They split up in search of the Scroll. Holly had an affinity for the Egyptians. To her they were one of the most sensible people in Mud Man history. Apart from that mummification nonsense. It was not until she came across the Head of the Mummy of Irthorru that she noticed a worn scroll amongst amulets that had been found with the relic. She snorted as she realised that humans had mistook the seal on the scroll for the design on the pectoral ornament found near the mummy. It was similar, but not the same.
Holly caught Root's eye from across the room, signalling that she had found it. "Everyone, can I have your attention please." Root said, his voice painfully loud. He withdrew a small sphere from his pocket and threw it into the thick of the crowd. "Look!" He said, neglecting to layer his voice with the mesmer. Despite this, everyone in the area leaned over to look at the small silver ball.
Holly put on her helmet and turned her back to it, knowing that her commander would be doing the same. Before she could draw a breath there was a loud blast and a blinding flash of light. Mass unconsciousness was immediate. Holly ran to bolt the doors, jumping over Mud Man bodies strewn all across the floor.
"Most impressive." Holly stopped, and felt her fingers curling into a fist at his voice.
"Lint." She growled, turning to see her commander being held at gunpoint by two armed men. Gus Lint was standing by the door she hadn't got to in his 'Tsu Ling holo-imager, and Artemis was a few feet away.
"Well isn't this a nice little reunion." Lint continued listlessly. "Butler, restrain her please." He added, his voice flowing with the mesmer. Holly felt two massive hands grabbing hold of her wrists from behind her. "He's a strong willed one, don't you think, Holly? Artemis, cuff her hands behind her back." The latter had no trace of the mesmer, but Artemis came forward voluntarily with handcuffs.
Holly felt her heart sink. He was actually in control of himself and was going to hand her over to Lint. Even Butler was fighting it, she could feel his hands loosening. Stop feeling sorry for yourself! She ordered. Gus is overconfident; you can use that to your advantage.
Holly looked at the floor, the picture of a beaten elf, but watched Artemis's shadow as it edged closer. With strength she did not know she possessed, she broke free of Butlers' hold. All her rage and pain manifested in her fist making contact with Artemis's jaw. Taken by surprise, he fell to the floor, making Holly remember all the times she had hit him when he was a boy.
Root had switched on the tunnel high beams in his helmet, the glare distracting his captors long enough for him to escape, and was running towards her. He grabbed hold of her hand and turned her around, dragging her behind a particularly large sarcophagus. Holly's respect for her commander grew as she realised that this was the perfect place to take refuge. Lint and his followers were on the other side of the room, and the seventh scroll was in the area between them.
Holly retrieved her Neutrino from its holster and opened fire on them, Root following her lead. Their opponents returned the favour, but were unable to get a clean shot in. Even Butler, under the influence of the mesmer, had taken out his Sig Sauers and was shooting at Holly and Root.
Holly stuck her head up briefly from behind the sarcophagus to see if Lint had managed to get the scroll, but so far, no one had made an advance towards it. She felt Root yank her back down. "I know what you're thinking Short!" He yelled between Neutrino blasts. "And you are NOT going after the scroll now!"
"I'm sorry sir!" She yelled back. She had never been one to follow orders.
She shot a few blasts without aiming, just to make sure they weren't watching too closely, then she bolted. She could hear Commander Root bellowing after her but blocked it all out, concentrating on her target. Blasts of red fire rained down on her and she was forced to alter course accordingly.
"DON'T JUST STAND THERE! GET HER YOU FOOL!" Gus Lint shouted his outrage.
Now she could hear someone coming behind her, but there was no time for that, the scroll was right in front of her. This was definitely not the time for subtlety. She thrust the butt of her Neutrino into the casing and the glass shattered immediately. As gently and as fast as she possibly could, she plucked the scroll from the exhibit, ignoring the pain as shattered glass tore at her skin.
She spun around. The sight of Butler hurtling towards you at an insane speed is the stuff of nightmares. This was one of those moments where Holly proved exactly why she was such a good field agent. Thinking fast, she took out the Safetynet - that Root had issued her with - and flung it up over her head. A shield blossomed around her, enveloping her entire body in a transparent two-metre sphere. In the same instant, Holly drew on her reserves of magic and shielded.
Butler, his mind slowed from being under the mesmer did not seem to know what had happened, and skidded to a halt next to her. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE YOU IDIOT! SHE'S UNDER THE SHIELD! Lint screamed furiously.
Holly held her breath as Butler picked up the bubble, and her, and began to tear into it with his bare hands. Timing it perfectly, she jumped out, narrowly escaping Butler's grasp. Within an instant, she had Lint's other goons after her.
She managed to get to Root, and he shielded too. Holly could feel her magic waning. It was obvious that they would not be able to get out of there without some kind of miracle.
Ask and you will receive.
The doors of the Egyptian section burst open, revealing a very disgruntled security guard and a few of the Museum's staff.
"What the bloody hell-"
Holly took the opportunity to make a dash for the window. Root was fast on her heels. The sound of gunfire followed her as she crashed through the glass and rocketed out into the sky.
When they were a fair distance away, Holly let out a small whoop. At least that would cause some problems for Tsu Ling. He would have a hard time explaining why he was having a gunfight in the British Museum to the Mud Men authorities.
Later, Holly told her commander that she needed to perform the Ritual. She was not completely out yet but, needless to say, recent times called for extra caution. The nearest hot-spot was at a park and he took the scroll and agreed to meet her at the gates. She would take a while and he needed to…well he needed some alone time.
She removed her helmet and walked slowly, not really feeling in much danger. Although graffiti ruined the benches and the amount of litter was undeniably disgusting, the atmosphere was almost peaceful.
It wasn't hard to find the right spot. Clutching her acorn, she bent low to the earth. Suddenly, the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching seized her. She froze, panic claiming her insides. Fairy instincts were never wrong. Then comprehension dawned on her, and that was almost worse than not knowing.
"How did you know I'd be here?" She asked softly.
"I knew."
Holly closed her eyes, wretchedly trying to wish away the pain that his betrayal had brought her. "I think we're getting to know each other too well."
"Is that a bad thing?" Artemis asked, quoting himself.
Holly turned around, levelling her Neutrino at his chest. "Yes" She whispered. "I don't have it. You might as well leave." She added. He was there for the scroll, why else would he have come?
"I don't want it." He told her.
She swallowed. "Why does he need you to translate the scrolls?"
Artemis did not look surprised at her questions, or the fact that she was holding him at gun-point. "There are some characters used that are unfamiliar to your fairy alphabet. They're actually derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. Also, the whole thing's in riddles, who better to solve them then a genius?" He paused. "There's no need for that." He added, referring to her gun.
She aimed the weapon higher, ready for a head-shot if need be. "I think there is." She replied coldly. "What are you doing here, Artemis?"
"You have to know, this isn't what it looks like. I'm doing this because it's the only way to stop him. I was forced into this, Holly. You have to believe me."
Why? Why did he have to toy with her emotions like this? Her hands trembled. "Oh, I bet you were." She said sarcastically. "I bet you have some great scheme to stop him, don't you Artemis?" Her voice broke. "I trusted you! I thought you'd changed!" He made a movement towards her. "Don't!" She yelled, shaking her gun. "Don't come near me!"
But he was pressing something into her hands, it was cool and metallic. She looked down. A circular coin with a hole right in the middle of it lay in her open palm. "You gave me this once to remind me of the spark of decency within me." He said, his voice almost pleading. "When I'm with you, you turn that spark into a flame, Holly. I have changed, and you're the reason for it. Right now I think you're the one who needs to be reminded of that."
Holly felt her hear harden. How dare he! He was standing there, looking hurt like she had done something to him. "Why? Why, Artemis? Why should I believe a damn thing you tell me?" She asked, waving her arms emphatically. "Because we're friends? We're not friends and we never will be. We're rivals! The way it should be!"
Artemis stepped forwards, heedless of the gun that was now pressing into his chest and cupped her cheek in his hand. "I thought we were a lot more than that."
Unable to meet his gaze, she looked at the ground. Her face was softer for a moment. "We can never be." She whispered.
Then, she backed away, letting his hand drop to his side. She put her Neutrino back in it's holster and finally looked at him. Her eyes were clouded with tears but her gaze was steady. "Stay away from me, Artemis. If I see you again, I'll kill you." She said, finishing in a whisper. Before Artemis could do anything she shielded and took to the air.
He stood there for several minutes, despair convulsing his body with the realisation that he had just lost the only person he had ever loved. For good.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Don't kill me, Sheen Rox and Holly B, the last statement was not true. I promise.
Next chapter we find out what the Scroll says…